Apparatus for placing reinforcement in concrete



APPARATUS FOR PLACING REINFORCEMENT IN CONCRETE Filed Nov. 5, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l a0 21 C 31w 33 34 I 6a J' q.

V 4 INVENTOR F1 43 32 ti 5 51" 5a -Lq' (94cm 7 ymtmm o. F. ARTHUR I 2,175240 APPARATUS FOR PLACING REINFORCEMENT IN CONCRETE Oct. 10,1939.

Fil ed Nov. 5, 1937' 2 Sheets-Shet 2 INVENTOR in MM nHHHHl lHQI hPIL nnl IL 4 Patented a. 1c, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE APPARATUS FOR PLACING REINFORCE- MENT m concnn'ra Oscar F. Arthur, Belle Vernon, Pa.

Application November 5, 1937, Serial No. H238!v 8 Claims.

My invention relates to the installing of metal reinforcing members in concrete roadways, or

the like.

In the installing of reinforcement mesh in concrete roadways, it is highly important (a) to effect an intimate bond between the mesh and the cement, (b) that there be no planes of weakness created in the concrete by the devices employed for installing the mesh therein, and (c) that the mesh be located at a desired uniform distance below the surface of the concrete, or in other. words at a desired predetermined depth. My invention has for its object the provision of a means and method whereby metal reinforcement can conveniently and accurately be ham died and installed in such manner that the con-.

ditions above referred to are accomplished.

As shown in the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of an installing apparatus; Fig. 2 is an end view'thereof; Fig. 3 is a side view thereof; Fig. 4 is an-enlarged-view taken on the line IV,IV of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a view taken on the line V-V of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6is a view similar .to Fig. 4, but showing certain of the parts in other positions.

The numerals 8 represent side forms for the concrete body 9, these side forms also serving as tracks for the truck or carriage to be hereinafter described. The truck comprises a frame having lower longitudinally-extending bars ll, pairs of upper bars II, the upper and lower bars being connected by vertical plates l2 welded or rivted thereto, and the upper longitudinal bars being connected by cross bars l3 which are bolted 35 or welded thereto. A pair of wheels ll are journalled in the bars ID at one end of the carriage, and a shaft I5 is journalled in the bars III at the other end of the machine. Traction wheels I! are secured to the shaft l5.

4 An internal combustion engine l'l, or other suit-' able form of prime mover, is mounted on twoof the cross bars l3 and, througha change-speed device It, drives a shaft 19 upon which is mounted a shiftable clutch member 20 that is 45 slidably but non-rotatably mounted on the shaft. A lever 2| is provided for shifting the clutch member into and out of driving engagement with the clutch teeth on a' sprocket wheel 22, and clutch teeth on a bevel gear wheel 23. The sprocket wheel 22, through a chain 24, has driving engagement with a sprocket wheel that is secured to the shaft l5, so that when the clutch member 20 is shifted to the left, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2; the carriage will be driven by the 55 motor II. The change-speed mechanism It may be of the type used in automobiles, so that the carriage can be driven either forwardly or rearwardly.

Bearings 26a. and 21a are provided on the under sides of the cross bars it, for rock shafts 5 26 and 21. Rubber cushioning blocks 26b are in* serted between the bearings and the cross bars (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) to prevent excessive transmission of vibrations to the main frame from the auxiliary, vibratable or movable frame herein- 10 after referred to. Crank arms 28 and 29 are connected to the shafts 26 and 21 respectively, the crank arm 28 being connected to the crank arm 29 through a link 30. A crank arm 3! is secured to the rock shaft 26 andthrough a linkll 32 has connection with the lower end of a lever 33 that is pivotally mounted on one of the cross 1 members l3, and is held in various set positions by a toothed quadrant 34 mounted on the cross bar and a pawl 35 carried by the lever. It will 20 be seen that movements of the lever 33 will rock the shafts 26 and 21.

The shaft 26 carries a series of crank arms 31, and the shaft 21 carries a series of crank arms 38. These arms 31 and it serve as supports for :5

e an auxiliary movable frame, which comprises cross bars 4| of T-form and tie bars 42, the bars 'll extending transversely of the carriage and being rigidly connected by means of the longi-v tudinally-extending tie bars l2. When the lever so .33 is operated, the movable frame will be shifted in an arcuate path extending in a direction generally perpendicularly to the. concrete. A vibrator 43 is mounted on certain of the tie bars 42 and is here shown as of the rotatable type, 5 the rotating member being eccentrically weighted so as to impart vibrations to the movable frame. Rotatable vibrators of this type are well known in the art and need not be here described in detail. of the pneumatic hammer .or other types cou.d

be employed for vibrating the frame.

The vibrator 43 is connected by a flexible shaft 44 with a gear wheel 45 which meshes with the gear wheel 23. When the clutch lever 2| is 5 shifted to the left, driving connection will be effected between the motor i1 and the vibrator, and at this time the change-speed mechanism 88 will usually be set in high gear so as to effect rapid rotation of the vibrator 63. The

vibrator may suitably be driven at several thousand revolutions per minute, and is here shown as rotating on a horizontal axis.

A series of book members lib are secured to each of the cross bars ll of the auxiliaryframe,

It will be understood that vibrators will be brought into engagement with longitudinally-extending wires 41 of the wire mesh reinforcement 48 when the lever 33 is rocked in a counter-clockwise direction and the movable frame and the hooks shifted thereby from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 4. The mesh spacings are usually uniform, but in order to accommodate the hooks 45 to wires or rods of different spacings, the books 46 are adjustable on the bars 4|. The upper ends of the hooks abut against the under sides of the flanges at the tops of the bars 4| and are connected to such bars by bolts 43 that extend through slots 50 formed in the bars 4|, as shownmore clearly in Figs. 4 and 5. The overhanging flanges of the bars prevent the hooks tilting, and they can, of course, be slid to desired positions longitudinally of the slots 50 and tightened in such position by the bolts 43.

In order to securely but releasably hold the mesh in the hooks 45 during the insertion of the mesh into the concrete and during vibration thereof, I provide retaining fingers 5| which are bevelled at their lower ends so that when they are lowered to the positions shown in Fig. 4, they will hold the mesh in place on the hooks 46. The fingers 5| are carried by cross bars 52 and extend downwardly through slots in the flanges of the bars 4|, whereby they are vertically guided and held against horizontal displacement relative to the bars 4|. Rock shafts 54 and 55 are journalled in bearings which are mounted upon the upper sides of the cross bars 4| and are provided with crank-like extensions or arms 56 and 51 respectively, these arms being connected by a link 58 so that when the shaft 55 is rocked, the shaft 54 also will be rocked. A lever 59 is rigidly secured to the shaft 55 for the purpose of oscillating it and the shaft 54.

The shafts 54 and 55 are each provided with slotted or bifurcated crank blocks or cam lugs 60 into the slotted recesses of which loosely extend the flanges of the bars 52. When the lever 59 is oscillated, the shafts 54 and 55 will be rocked to thereby also rock the lugs 60 and cause raising and lowering movements of the fingers 5| relative to the bars 4| of the movable frame The truck or carriage may be of such width as to span a part width roadway, or made wide enough to span a full width roadway. In the case of a full width roadway (perhaps 18 ft. to 20 ft.) two movable vibrator frames usually would be placed on the truck, side-by-side.

In the operation of the apparatus, the sheets of reinforcement mesh may conveniently be stacked on the rearward part of the carriage,

there being ample space for so piling the sheets of mesh, because the driving motor I! and the operator are located at the forward end of the carriage, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3. By placing a supply of mesh on the carriage, it is readily accessible for use, and furthermore, kept out of the dirt along side of the roadway and protected from damage. A crane can be mounted on the carriage to load the mesh sheets thereon and to thereafter lift the sheets off the carriage, one-by-one, and place them on the concrete in front of the carriage, for engagement by the hooks.

The concrete is first struck off to bring it to the level of the side forms 3. Thereupon, a sheet of mesh is placed thereon and with the operator standing on a platform 52 at the front of the carriage, the clutch is operated to advance the carriage into position above the mesh sheet which is to be installed in the concrete. Thereupon, the lever 33 is rocked in a counter-clockwise direction to bring the hooks 46 into engagement with the wires 41 of the mesh. The lever 59 is then moved in a clockwise directionto force the fingers 5| into locking position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The clutch is then so shifted as to set the vibrator into operation and the lever 33 is rocked further'in a counter-clockwise direction to force the mesh into the concrete to a desired depth.

The vibration of the movable frame and hence of the mesh assists in effecting penetration of 'the mesh into the concrete withoutexcessive disturbance of the concrete, since the range of horizontal movement is very slight and the mesh wires will readily be caused to pass the lumps of aggregate. Furthermore, the vibration will settle the concrete and effect an intimate contact of the mesh with the concrete so that it will be firmly.bonded and there will be no slippage of the mesh members in the concrete after the concrete has set. When the mesh has been installed, the fingers 5| will be raised and the lever 33 swung in a clockwise direction to lift the hooks 45 out of the concrete. Usually it will be desirable to continue the vibration of the movable frame during the lifting of the hooks, so as to minimize disturbance of the concrete.

After removal of the hooks, a screed and finishing belt or float will be moved over the surface of the concrete to smooth the same and to fill any small voids which have been left therein by the hooks 46 and the fingers 5|, andthe depressions produced by the bars 4|. These depressions in the surface of the concrete ordinarizontal direction. Owing to this and to the fact that the downwardly extending projections or hooks 46 and fingers 5| are of narrow dimensions,

there is aminimum of disturbance of the concrete and hence less tendency to produce definite lines of cleavage which would cause breaking of the concrete. The depressions produced by the bars 4| are transversely of the'roadway and are readily closed by the screeding and smoothing operations which are performed by tools moving longitudinally of the roadway.

It will be understood that the apparatus can be employed in the installing of separate bars instead of mesh, since the bars could be placed in the hooks 43 and the apparatus operated in the manner above described.

I claim as my invention:

1. Apparatus for installing reinforcing members in plastic concrete, comprising holding members engageable with the reinforcing members at a plurality of points throughout the area of the reinforcement, simultaneously, and a pressureexerting device operable upon said holding members simultaneously, to push them and thereinforcement into the concrete.

2. Apparatus for installing reinforcing members in plastic concrete, comprising holding members engageable with the reinforcing members at a plurality of points throughout the area of remeans for simultaneously vibrating the reinforcement, the said holding members being movable as a unit, in directions generally perpendicular to the plane of the concrete.

4. Apparatus for installing reinforcing members in plastic concrete, comprising a main frame adapted to be positioned above the concrete, an auxiliary frame movably supported by the main frame, holding members carried by the auxiliary frame and engageable with reinforcing members, means carried by the main frame for pushing the auxiliary frame downwardly to force the reinforcing.members into the concrete, and means for simultaneously vibrating the auxiliary frame.

5. Apparatus for installing reinforcing members in plastic concrete, comprising a frame adapted to be positioned above the concrete, downwardly-extending hook members carried by said frame, means for detachably maintaining the reinforcing membersin'said hoolr mernbers,

means for forcing the frame toward tlie concrete to embed the reinforcing members therein, and

means for simultaneously vibrating the, said I frame.

. 6. Apparatus for installing reinforcing mem- I bers' in plastic concrete, comprising a frame adapted to be positioned above the concrete, means for detachably and rigidly connecting the:

reinforcing members to said frame,.means for moving the said frame to force the reinforcing members into the concrete, and means for simultaneously vibrating the frame.

7. Apparatus for installing reinforcing memadaptedto be positioned above the' concrete, downwardly-extending finger-like projections carried by said frame, means for detachably maintaining the reinforcing members on said projeetions, means for moving the frame perpendicularly to the plane of the concrete, to force said projections" and the reinforcing members into the concrete, and means for horizontally vibrating the frame, the horizontal dimensions. of the said projections and the distance of vibration being such that no extended lines of cleavage are produced in the concrete.

8. Apparatus for installing reinforcing mesh in plastic concrete, comprising a support for releasably maintaining a mesh sheet in a plane approximately parallel to the surface of the concrete, at a plurality of points, means for-moving said support towards the concrete and thereby force' the mesh into the concrete, and meansfgr simul-,

taneously vibrating the mesh.

OSCAR F. ARTHUR}. is

'bers in plastic concrete, comprising a frame" 

